Rene Bestudio walked out with the victory in the main event of ALA-Cobra Tunay Na Lakas Boxing as he outpointed Jonel Alibio in ten rounds Saturday night at the City Hall Gymnasium of Mandaluyong City.

Bestudio, who is representing XCON Tiger City Gym, unanimously earned the judges’ nod with scores of 98-90, 96-92 and 97-91.

The man known as “King Tiger” took control early with the more accurate shots, throwing combinations with both hands to land on Alibio's head and body.

Furthermore, the 29-year-old pugilist from Southern Leyte was launching punches from his dangerous right hand that his opponent was unable to evade.

However, Alibio found a trick under his sleeve in the third round as he used his counter jab to fend off his surging foe, who continued to toss body bombs.

With the success of his jabs, “Mulawin” was able to put a mouse on Bestudio’s right eye, but it didn’t bother the latter as he closed the round with a solid combination that sent his rival to the ropes.

Bestudio continued the relentless assault on Alibio in the succeeding rounds as he kept on throwing an overhand right that had the Empire Boxing Gym standout reeling inside the ring.
Alibio was caught backpedalling to avoid a possible knockdown by Bestudio, who was producing eye-catching punches until the final bell.

With his victory over Alibio, Bestudio is now back in the winner’s circle after suffering a tough majority decision loss to unbeaten Mark Acub last June 22 in Cebu.

Moreover, he improves his professional boxing record to 16-5-4 with 5 KOs. He has now won four of his last five outings.
On the other hand, Alibio has tasted his seventh-straight setback and drops his career card to 16-17-4.

In addition, he has never won a match since his triumph over Naoki Matsuda on November 6, 2010 in Tokyo, Japan.
XCON’s 1-3 performance

Rene Bestudio served as a redeemer for XCON Tiger City Gym as three of its warriors encountered unsuccessful hurdles throughout the night.

The first boxer was Robin Dingcong, who was not allowed by the resident physician of the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) to compete against Joel Lumangcag.

Dingcong failed to secure a medical clearance from the ENT, and as a result, the scheduled bout was declared a no contest.

The 20-year-old pugilist from Negros Occidental was supposed to make his first appearance as a professional fighter.

It was then followed by Jesame Dela Zerna, who squared off with knockout artist Richard Claveras.

Claveras stopped Dela Zerna by TKO in just 51 seconds of the fight, leaving the XCON boxer dazed after the referee called a halt to the action.

Dela Zerna was defeated for the first time since November 2010 when he yielded to Conrado Tanamor.

Meanwhile, Claveras has extended his undefeated streak to 4-0, and all those victories have come by way of stoppage.

In the co-main event, XCON’s frontrunner Jimmy Aducal was thumped by Argie Toquero with a third-round TKO.

Aducal has experienced his first back-to-back losses in his career, while Toquero is now riding high with three-straight wins.

Despite the knockout setback of his two wards, head coach Ramie Gonzaga remains optimistic that Aducal and Dela Zerna would bounce back from their dramatic drubbing.

“It’s part of the game. Someone will win, and the other will lose. The important part is how they will learn from it and use it as a motivation to win again,” he said.

As to Dingcong’s frustrating debut, he stressed that the coaching staff strived to comply with the regulations of the sanctioning body.

“We tried all our efforts to save the fight, but that is the decision of GAB. We have to respect it,” he stated.

Gonzaga expressed his gratitude to the supporters of the four fighters who competed at ALA-Cobra’s first event in Luzon.

“Personally, I would like to thank our supporters and friends. Also, I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to Boss Jay San Pedro for his undying support,” he ended.